Celina Health and Rehabilitation Center was among 19 Tennessee Health Care Association (THCA) member nursing homes recently honored for completing a national safety program designed to reduce certain health care-associated infections (HAI).

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Safety Program for Long-Term Care focuses on reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and other HAIs in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

According to AHRQ, between 1 million and 3 million HAIs strike nursing home residents annually, contributing to nearly 400,000 deaths each year. Urinary tract infection is a common HAI in these facilities and is a major reason residents are hospitalized. The AHRQ program teaches proven methods for preventing CAUTI and ways to incorporate these methods into a facility’s regular procedures so that safety becomes the norm.